A man is fighting for his life after being run down by a ute following a street brawl in Rotorua.

The only survivor of a car crash that killed four South American tourists has spoken about his recovery and his plan to return to New Zealand.

The Rimutaka Hill Road has been closed this morning due to a spill. A police spokesperson said the spill, believed to be either diesel or oil, was reported about 6.30am.

A man whose son drowned after his car rolled into a pond on the West Coast last month has finally been interviewed by police.

The family of a Canadian woman killed in a road accident on a Waitomo intersection say they are shocked to learn another tourist's life has been taken there.

A woman who died when she was hit by a train today near Ashburton had been the subject of a police pursuit earlier this morning.

A man whose son drowned when his ute rolled into a pond on the West Coast was suffering from a terminal brain tumour he did not know about at the time, a family friend says.

Four overturned trucks in just over a week have brought a warning to drivers to watch their speed, loads and fatigue levels.

A run of four overturned truck accidents in just a week has officials wondering why.

A drunk driver was suffocated between his car door and roof after swerving onto the wrong side of the road to hit a “ferret”, evidence given to a coroner says.